This application claims the priority of Austrian utility model GM 154/2001, filed Mar. 2, 2001, the subject matter of which is incorporated herein by reference.
The present invention relates, in general, to a method of renewing ties of a railroad track extending in a longitudinal direction and including a succession of ties supported on a ballast bed, and more particularly but not exclusively to a method which involves a removal of a damaged tie from the track and replacement of the damaged tie by a new tie. The present invention also relates to an installation for lifting damaged ties from a railroad track and storing the ties.
A work train for renewing ties of a track is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,089,162, and has several vehicles including storage wagons. Old ties are lifted by a crane vehicle, which travels along the train, and stored in a storage wagon. When old ties break into pieces during their removal and thus are difficult to handle in transport, these pieces are discharged into a separate storage container.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,161,213 describes an installation for cutting old ties in the ballast bed of the track, by using a saw to thereby facilitate a removal and transport of old ties.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,701,483 describes a track-bound installation having a conveyor belt for picking up old ties laying on the track and transporting them to a device having rotating blades for comminuting or shredding the ties. A further conveyor belt, which extends perpendicularly to the longitudinal direction of the track, discharges the comminuted wood parts laterally onto a region adjacent to the track.
It would be desirable and advantageous to provide an improved method and installation for more efficient removal of old or damaged ties from a railroad track.
According to one aspect of the present invention, a method of removing a damaged tie includes the steps of comminuting a damaged tie into pieces either before removal of the damaged tie or after removal of the damaged tie, ejecting the pieces into a storage wagon by a first conveyor device, transporting the pieces from the storage wagon by a second conveyor device to a number of further like storage wagons arranged behind one another, for selectively filling the further storage wagons, and replacing the damaged tie in the track by a new tie.
When carrying out the comminution of a damaged tie after removal of the damaged tie from the track, the comminution is implemented in a comminution device by which the damaged tie is comminuted into shredded pieces. On the other hand, when comminuting a damaged tie, while still laying in the track, the comminution is implemented by a saw for cutting the damaged tie into cut pieces. In the following description, the term xe2x80x9cshredded piecesxe2x80x9d will refer to a comminution by which the damaged tie is comminuted into many very small fragments of undefined contour in the comminution device, whereas the term xe2x80x9ccut piecesxe2x80x9d will refer to a comminution by which the damaged tie is comminuted into few parts of distinct contour by the saw.
The present invention resolves prior art problems as a consequence of disturbances caused by brittle or broken old ties and thus impaired transport efficiency, by basing the entire tie replacement method and tie transport system upon a general comminution of the damaged old ties into shredded pieces or cut pieces which are then transported away in the comminuted state. Since the complete transport and storage system is now based exclusively on comminuted ties, the efficiency of the tie renewal process is significantly enhanced, as a time-consuming gripping, lining-up and transporting of the old ties to the storage sites in their bulky whole form is no longer necessary. Rather, by using the novel and inventive method according to the invention, the comminuted ties, whether shredded or cut, can simply be transported onwards very easily and automatically in great bulk via conveyor belts for filling large-capacity storage wagons.
According to another aspect of the present invention, an on-track installation for lifting damaged ties from a railroad track and storing the damaged ties, includes a lifting device for gripping and lifting a damaged tie from the ballast bed, a depositing station for intermediate storage of the damaged tie, a comminuting device configured for receiving the intermediately stored damaged tie and for comminuting the damaged tie into pieces, a conveyor device receiving the pieces from the comminuting device, said conveyor device extending longitudinally in a direction of the track and including a discharging end for ejecting the pieces, and at least one storage wagon having one end distal to the conveyor device and including a bottom conveyor belt, which extends in the longitudinal direction, and a transfer conveyor belt, which extends the bottom conveyor belt beyond the distal end of the storage wagon and has a discharging end positioned higher than the bottom conveyor belt.
With an installation according to the present invention, efficient removal of the damaged old ties can be realized in a time-saving and automatic manner while ensuring a reliable operation, as there are no bulky, unwieldy or broken tie parts that could interfere with the transport thereof.